


What is This Feeling?

by Stariceling



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Crush, M/M, clueless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:34:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7690072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stariceling/pseuds/Stariceling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kageyama doesn't know why Kenma's smile makes his heart thump.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What is This Feeling?

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus round 1 prompt: Remember when Kenma smiled at Kageyama, and Kageyama's chest thumped?
> 
> Posted after the deadline so was hidden for a long time. *laugh* I'm still fond of poor Kageyama trying to figure things out.

The first time Kageyama saw Kenma smile his pulse jumped. It was between sets in the practice match and all he had seen thus far was that bored resting face and then the way he suddenly became alert while playing.

When he smiled the expression was mild and easy. He looked content within the circle of his team.

Kageyama assumed the sudden longing to be there in the circle around Kenma was jealousy and ruthlessly shoved it down as deep as he could. It felt absolutely nothing like the childish pangs of jealousy he had suffered while longing to reach other setters he looked up to, but what else could it possibly be?

* * *

The first time Kenma smiled at him wasn’t really a smile. It was something tight-lipped and defensive, defined by golden eyes darting in search of an escape.

Kenma slipped away before he made it through one word and hid himself between his milling teammates. His gaze darted back to Kageyama briefly, then lazily slid away as Kuroo started talking to him.

Keen disappointment pinged through in Kageyama’s gut, making him scowl at the ground. He had no idea why just missing a chance to talk to the other setter felt like that.

* * *

Kenma smiled while talking to Hinata and Kageyama’s heart clenched so hard it ached for a moment. It was obviously jealousy he was feeling this time and it absolutely had to stop. They weren’t on the court right now. He shouldn’t be frustrated because Hinata was over there being friendly with another setter.

Actually he was more frustrated at Hinata for getting along with Kenma so well when he wanted a chance to talk to Kenma himself.

That was basically the same thing, right?

Hinata wanted to know later why he was glaring and what was his problem with them hanging out? Kageyama had not been glaring even a little. He didn’t have a problem _Hinata_ had a problem.

He might have a preoccupation with Nekoma’s setter, but that wasn’t a problem, right?

* * *

Sugawara told him to just talk to Kenma like a normal person, although he was pretty sure that was what he had been trying to do all along. He did trust Sugawara’s experience and listened to his advice when it was about volleyball, though. Wasn’t this more or less the same thing?

Not staring and trying to psych himself up to talk to the other boy seemed to help, though. He felt so awkward he could die, but he managed to actually talk to Kenma without the other boy slipping away.

For some reason things like ‘how long have you been playing volleyball?’ and ‘what made you want to be a setter?’ weren’t as satisfying as he’d imagined.

Kenma was perched on the very edge of the step they were sitting on, hunched over his knees. He tugged at the top of his sock in the absence of anything to occupy his hands. Kageyama watched him until he realized he was staring and then stared at his knees instead. Something about Kenma was just different. In a good way. He was cute. That was perhaps the wrong line of thought.

When he looked up to try again Kenma’s eyes were no longer avoiding his, but studying him.

“I misunderstood what Shouyou said about you,” he said.

“What did he say?” Anger jumped right up the back of Kageyama’s spine because if Hinata had told Kenma to avoid him he was going to hold the other boy upside down and shake him until he took it back.

“Kind of. . .” Kenma lifted his hands and curled his fingers in front of him. “Gwa?” he tried weakly. Hinata-speak didn’t seem to translate well into Kenma’s more logical dialect.

Kageyama ran a hand through his hair and scowled. What did Hinata even mean by that? What did Kenma think he meant by that? How was he supposed to respond to that?

Kenma lowered his hands. Kageyama hadn’t realized Kenma had been tilting his head to shield himself with his hair until he stopped. He was looking at Kageyama straight-on for the first time, eyes alert and curious.

Then he smiled, and Kageyama felt his chest thump. Kenma must have heard it, it was so loud. He tried to surreptitiously raise one hand to touch his chest, checking for a sore spot or some evidence of whatever his heart had just done.

Kageyama was starting to suspect that feeling in his chest wasn’t because of volleyball.

Kenma stood up. Kageyama got the feeling the other setter had figured something out while he was not even remotely done figuring out what was going on.

“It’s not bad that you’re intense,” Kenma said softly. “Most people would find that more fitting, anyway.”

“Are you saying you’re not?”

Kenma didn’t even have to say it. That blank look was enough.

“Have more awareness of the pressure you put on your opponents!”

He thankfully didn’t get to the second point, which was, ‘Please be less aware of whatever you’re doing to me because I haven’t figured out what it is yet.’

“Sure,” Kenma said, caught off guard. It was an awkward note to end an awkward conversation, but Kageyama was okay with that.

Once Kenma was out of sight Kageyama pushed his fist to his chest, still not sure what was happening to him. Kenma had smiled at him and Kenma has said ‘not bad’ about him, and Kageyama still wasn’t entirely sure why, but thinking about that made his heart beat faster.


End file.
